RNC organizers aggressively go green

In the race for greenness, Republicans are picking up the pace for their upcoming national convention in St. Paul.

Think hybrid electric trucks delivering soft drinks to the Xcel Energy Center. Almost 300 containers for used cans, bottles, paper and all other things recyclable. A thousand bicycles available for convention-goers to get around the Twin Cities. Recycled desk chairs, cubicles and carpeting. Even 45,000 biodegradable discount cards for visitors.

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"I think we are going to be the greenest convention in GOP history,'' said Joanna Burgos, press secretary for the convention, which will be held Sept. 1-4.

Democrats are doing much the same — and arguably more — at their convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver. They're even pushing an effort to reduce carbon emissions from delegates and alternates traveling there.

But some of those efforts border on excess, Burgos said. "Every initiative we have implemented is realistic,'' she said, comparing the two approaches.

While convention actions don't necessarily translate into eventual policy, they are aimed at reducing energy consumed and at reusing materials, minimizing the vast amounts of trash that used to be generated and discarded at such big events. And if that sends a political signal along the way, well, why not?

Waste Management will handle all trash and recyclables at the St. Paul convention. The trash will be taken to the Newport refuse-derived fuel plant and the recyclables to Waste Management's Minneapolis recycling plant. From there, any plastic bottles and aluminum cans will be funneled to Coca-Cola's Eagan plant and eventually turned into new containers.

Julie Ketchum, government affairs director for Waste Management, said the convention could produce up to 10 tons of material a day, with a minimal amount destined for landfills.

It's unclear how much will be recycled, Ketchum added. "But we expect a high recycling rate for this convention,'' she said.

Coca-Cola, for instance, hopes to recycle 100 percent of its products consumed there. That would be an estimated 250,000 containers, said Kevin Morris, vice president for public affairs and communications for Coca-Cola Enterprises Bottling Cos.

Then, when everyone packs up and heads home, inroads will have been made for continued efforts in the city, said Anne Hunt, sustainability coordinator for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

She said the city wants to cut waste at other large events; ratchet up recycling, waste-reduction and energy efficiencies at the Xcel Energy Center; and continue the bike-sharing program.

"We do want to take advantage of this to jump-start some new initiatives,'' Hunt said. "The Republican National Convention is the catalyst to get that done.''

But before then, the Republican convention will be doing things not always seen at these extravaganzas.

During the earliest stages, Burgos said, planners wanted to make it as environmentally friendly as possible and worked to instill that culture into everything they did. That led to recycled office equipment, power strips to cut energy consumption by computers and efforts to cut paper waste, such as printing on both sides of pages. They even operate out of an energy-efficient building.

Xcel Energy, which is providing the power for the two conventions, said it will match the power used at the sites with an equal amount of new wind power produced elsewhere. It's also using solar power at each site.

General Motors, meanwhile, is providing 325 flex-fuel or hybrid vehicles for staff and convention-goers.

The bike effort, sponsored by the Humana health insurance company in conjunction with the Bikes Belong cycling advocacy group, is aimed at providing an emissions-free alternative to driving. Riders can use credit cards to check out bikes at no charge. The cards are to make sure they bring the bikes back.

Some efforts aren't so obvious. Like releasing balloons.

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First, the industry that produces the balloons contends they are biodegradable. Second, they'll only be launched inside the building, meaning they'll be collected before they ever get a chance to catch an outside breeze.

Dennis Lien is a political writer for The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Politico and the Pioneer Press are sharing content for the 2008 election cycle and during the Republican National Convention.